Guy Tillim

South African photographer Guy Tillim has been a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin for almost a year now. At the end of June he will return to South Africa. The Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study) is an interdisciplinary research institute. It was founded in 1981 as an association with headquarters in the Berlin district of Grunewald and appoints 40 fellows of high academic standing from the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences for one year at a time – plus one or two composers, musicians or writers.

We are very pleased that on Friday, June 3, 6 – 9 p.m., we will be opening an exhibition of b/w photographs by Guy Tillim, which were taken in Berlin during his fellowship.

“The deep tonal qualities that European photographers found in their black and white images always fascinated me, but they were impossible to produce under a bright African sky where I learned my trade as a photographer. It’s probably one of the reasons I embraced the Berlin winter as pallet and as source of inspiration. I was also impressed by how people in the street seemed insular and alone, wrapped up against the winter and masked against the pandemic. I felt alone too, but the endless juxtaposition of elements in the subtle and profound contrast was a meditation for me.“ (Guy Tillim)